Parliamentary Speeches
1,167 speeches by Heather McPherson — Page 20 of 24
Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, health experts have told us that if countries like Canada do not work urgently to get vaccines to the world's most vulnerable populations, dangerous variants like omicron will continue to develop. The global impacts will be dire. More people will die and the COVID-19 nightmare will continue. Canadians want to get back to normal, but that will not happen unless everyone everywhere ha…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague's speech was such an honour to hear, but also it is such an honour for me to get to work with this member, who has worked so hard for working people across this country. He spoke about how the New Democrats have said 22 times in the House that we need 10 sick days for people. Can I ask the member why he thinks it has taken the Liberals so long to come through with that …
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Madam Speaker, I would like to congratulate the new member for winning his seat in the last election. I want to follow up on one of the questions that was asked by my colleague from Thunder Bay—Rainy River on the availability of health care workers. He spoke about his daughter, who is a paramedic, and I know that in Alberta there is a real shortage of paramedics. I have spoken to paramedics on the…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, I give my colleague my sympathies for the loss that he described early in his speech. I also come from a province where oil and gas is, of course, very important to our economy. We are seeing very little investment in the oil and gas sector because we have not shown, in Canada, that we are doing what we can to take carbon out of the barrel. Does the member see a way that we could us…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Mr. Speaker, my colleague will not be surprised by the question I am going to ask him today. I agree with him that there needed to be much more focus on agriculture within the throne speech, and I was very disappointed we did not see that, but I have spoken to people in his riding who are very concerned about the attacks on water in the very drought-prone area that would be the result of coal mini…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-205, An Act to amend the Impact Assessment Act. Mr. Speaker, it is my great honour to stand today to table my bill, an act to amend the Impact Assessment Act. I want to thank the member for Edmonton Griesbach, my colleague in the NDP Alberta caucus, for agreeing to second this bill. I also want to thank the members for Victoria and South Okanagan—West Kootenay f…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, one of the most important things we can do as members of Parliament is protect seniors in our communities and protect Canadians as we come out of the pandemic. In my community, seniors are being impacted by the clawback that the government has put on GIS payments for seniors. Members will know that these seniors are living in the poorest situations. They are the ones who are the mos…
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians are outraged by the Liberal government's failure to protect our allies and the women, religious minorities and people who are most vulnerable in Afghanistan. Experts have stated that Afghanistan is now among the world's worst humanitarian crises. There are 23 million Afghans who are at risk of starving, but the UN World Food Programme has said that the government's response …
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Mr. Speaker, I plan to be in the House every day that it sits, as long as my health is good enough to enable me to do so, and I plan to represent the constituents of Edmonton Strathcona as best as I can in person as often as I can. In the last Parliament, we were given assurances that the government would show up and that its members would be here, but often they were not, and as much as I appreci…
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Mr. Speaker, I do have some concerns. The member spoke about not working when we are actually online. During the beginning of this pandemic, we did have to be online to work. It was very important. I am very proud to say that I attended 100% of the online sessions of this place. I do know that many of my Alberta colleagues did not. In fact, some of them attended none. I wonder if the member's actu…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, congratulations to all the graduates from the many high schools in Edmonton Strathcona. We are always proud of high school graduates, but to the class of 2021, I want to give a particular shout-out. They are all incredible for working so hard and accomplishing so much this year. In the midst of a global pandemic, they have demonstrated their determination and completed their high scho…
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Mr. Speaker, it seems that the minister may be quite confused. He keeps saying that he does not quite understand the NDP position in not voting with his government to push this through Parliament. The New Democrats have been clear. We are very supportive of getting help to our artists and we are supportive of Bill C-10. However, perhaps what the minister does not understand is the role Parliament …
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I am wondering if the member actually accused the NDP of lying. We are not supposed to do in the House. I wonder if he wants to take that back.
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Mr. Speaker, we have legislation that was brought forward in November. We know the government chooses which legislation to bring onto the floor. That is well within its purview. There are now two days left until the House rises for the summer, potentially for this Parliament. Why are we voting on amendments that could have been dealt with much sooner and much more effectively if the government had…
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moved: That Bill C-10, in Clause 8, be amended by adding after line 43 on page 14 the following: “(i.1) respecting the establishment of a framework for contractual practices between independent and individual producers and programming undertakings and online undertakings;”
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moved: That Bill C-10, in Clause 10, be amended by replacing lines 19 and 20 on page 17 with the following: “(b) supporting, promoting or training Canadian creative and other human resources of audio or audio-visual programs for broadcast-”
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Madam Speaker, there are parts on which I very much agree with my colleague. I agree this was flawed legislation. I agree the Liberal government did a terrible job in managing how the legislation came out and went through the process. However, in committee, we went through the legislation and tried to fix it. I can talk about four amendments that we could have used to add protections to the legisl…
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Madam Speaker, it was a pleasure to work with the member on Bill C-10. He obviously cares about the Broadcasting Act, the broadcasting landscape, our creative producers in Canada, our artists, our writers and our community broadcasting stations. That was something that I was fighting for at committee, so we were often working hand in hand on some of that work. However, that was not the case with a…
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Mr. Speaker, I did notice the member spoke almost not at all about the bill, which is interesting because that is why we are here. Since I am sure he has read the bill and has read the act, he knows there are numerous places in both the act and the bill where freedom of expression is explicitly protected. While the Liberals may not be trustworthy, members will recall that the Bloc, the Green Party…
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Mr. Speaker, I have watched my colleague in meetings with stakeholders. I have watched him in the House. I have watched him in the media, and he really is a friend who is fighting hard for the cultural sector in Canada. The work that he has done to stand up for our artists and our writers and folks who are in the creative sector is outstanding. While I am disappointed by the Conservatives' attempt…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-312, An Act relating to cash contributions by Canada and to criteria and conditions in respect of post-secondary education. Mr. Speaker, post-secondary education advances our social, cultural and economic well-being and determines our ability to innovate, respond to change and maintain a vibrant and stable democracy. Post-secondary educational excellence and acc…
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Mr. Speaker, would the Conservatives agree with me that an intelligence officer who worked with local Afghan authorities in a leadership role, as was claimed by the Minister of National Defence during his tours in the field, should have known about the alleged torture of prisoners transferred to the Afghan authorities?
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Mr. Speaker, my question is this. In 2015, under Stephen Harper and Jason Kenney, the chief of the defence staff was put in place, so the Conservatives did not do what they needed to do to take care of women in the military. We now have a government that has had six years to fix this problem, this broken system, and it has not done that. A survivor, who is not a constituent, called my office becau…
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Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie. I am honoured today to speak to this motion. I am the granddaughter of Bert McCoy. He was a gunner in the Royal Canadian Air Force who always lived a very large life, including being shot down over Belgium during the Second World War. He spent two years in the underground trying to fight his way back to my gran…
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Madam Speaker, I have a few problems with this. First of all, all attempts to get the government to take meaningful action have been stalled, whether it is at committee or in the House. It has had six years and has chosen not to take the necessary steps that would protect women in the military. Do I think the Conservative opposition is acting in a partisan manner today with this opposition day mot…
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Madam Speaker, I wish I did not have to say this, but very often we hear the right words from the Liberals and we do not see action. They are incredibly good at saying words that Canadians and I want to hear. They say they are going to take action and do what needs to be done, but then we do not get that. We get study after study. There are so many times I have stood in the House over the last yea…
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Madam Speaker, I will reiterate that we have a report that outlines what needs to be done to protect women in the military. We know the next steps to be taken. We know exactly what could be done right now, this moment, to protect women in the military, and none of it is being done. We are standing in this place with an urgency to pass legislation on climate change, broadcasting and so many other t…
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Madam Speaker, I honour my colleague for the efforts she makes at committee, where I have spent time with her, and in the House to fight for women in the military. The work she does is incredibly important, as is how she raises her voice for this issue. The motion brought forward by the opposition focuses on the Minister of National Defence. While I will support it, I wonder if the member could co…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, in just a few weeks, the Liberals are planning on cutting vital money that Canadians need. Those receiving CRB benefits will soon get $800 less per month. The Liberals are forcing them to live on only $1,200 per month, and that is simply not enough. People who needed the CRB in January are going to need it in August. Thousands of Canadians are scraping by. They will have to make diffi…
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate the frustration that my colleague has shared regarding the government's response. A company in my riding of Edmonton Strathcona is using the wage subsidy program to pay for scab labour so it can lock its workers out. Like her, I have brought up many times to the Deputy Prime Minister that I would like the government to close this loophole, and I have heard nothing. Coul…
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Madam Speaker, I sit with my colleague on the international human rights subcommittee and I know he is a very intelligent and thoughtful member of the House. I also know that his riding has a large population of francophones outside of Quebec, as does mine of Edmonton Strathcona. I am going to ask him a question about protections for francophones outside of Quebec. As the member will know, section…
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Madam Speaker, I know that my colleague is a staunch defender of Quebec and French language rights in Quebec and across the country. I had the great pleasure of welcoming him to Edmonton Strathcona just a couple of weeks ago. He came and met with members of the francophone community in Edmonton, virtually of course. In addition to what he brought up in his speech, what other ways can he envision p…
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Madam Speaker, I know that as somebody who is a francophone in a minority setting, the parliamentary secretary will understand that I fight as hard as I can for francophones in my constituency. He will also know that Campus Saint-Jean, the university in my riding, is under threat and that the federal government has told members of my francophone community to be patient. I would like to ask the mem…
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Madam Speaker, I apologize, my French is not very good. The Liberal government has promised legislation that would protect minority language rights, including post-secondary education in minority language communities. When will the government announce financial support for Campus Saint-Jean?
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, another Muslim woman was violently attacked in my city. She was walking in broad daylight when she was violently thrown face first to the pavement. Muslim women in Edmonton have to tell their loved ones where they are going. They take photos of themselves when they go out in case they are attacked or go missing. Enough is enough. When will the government table legislation on online ha…
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Madam Speaker, I have so many concerns with what happened in our committee. He was a member of the committee, as was I. The Conservatives brought up concerns about freedom of expression. Does the member realize that the act itself has three cases in which it specifically names freedom of expression being protected? The bill itself already has a protection in it, and we approved at least four amend…
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Madam Speaker, the hon. member is someone who I worked with at the heritage committee and someone who I honestly believe is trying to get us a piece of broadcasting legislation that will help our broadcasters. That said, this is not the way I see all of the members of the Conservative Party, some of whom did filibuster. It could be why we did not see the member filibuster at committee. The job is …
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Madam Speaker, I would like to be able to say that the member's speech was enlightening, but it was absurd, to be perfectly honest. I would like him to tell me exactly where in this legislation freedom of expression is put at risk, because it is not in the four places in the act where it is explicitly protected. It is not in the place within the legislation where it is explicitly protected, and it…
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Madam Speaker, the member spoke today about how he really is worried about what I think he intended to mean was discoverability of content online. I wonder what he would say to the fact that right now Canadian content on, for example, Facebook, is being determined. There are algorithms that determine what we as Canadians see. Do members know who is deciding what that is? It is Mark Zuckerberg who …
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Mr. Speaker, I certainly agree with the member when he says that the Conservatives who have spoken in the House tonight do not seem to have read the legislation and basically seem to be trying to fundraise off an issue that should be about helping broadcasters. However, I do have to ask the member a question. When the Liberals brought forward legislation in November of last year, they knew it was …
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague spoke about the fear of freedom of expression being constrained, so I just wanted to check with him. I am sure he has read the Bill C-10 legislation, but I am not sure if he has read the act itself. The act still says, in section 2(3), “This Act shall be construed and applied in a manner that is consistent with the freedom of expression and journalistic, creative and prog…
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Mr. Speaker, my question is on the member's cousin and what is preventing her from sharing her stories and getting her content out there as a content creator. We heard about the fact that the CRTC is six white men who are making decisions about what the CRTC deems as Canadian content, but when her family member puts content out on the Internet, does the member know who is now deciding who gets to …
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Mr. Speaker, I have been in the House for some time listening to the debate tonight, so it is an honour to finally stand and speak. This past year, we have seen the very best and the very worst of government in our system of democracy. When all parties were working together as the committee of the whole to address the COVID-19 crisis, we saw how well the government could work together. I am going …
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Mr. Speaker, my thoughts on this are that, realistically, we or the government needed to bring forward legislation that would be strong so that the Conservatives would not smell that blood and would not feel like this was an awesome opportunity for them to fundraise with. One of the things I find shocking is the disinformation that we have heard from members in the House during the debate today an…
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Mr. Speaker, it is very interesting to me that we are told that there are experts. I have a letter here that was written by 14 lawyers who have said that Bill C-10 would do none of the things that we have been accused of doing to it. We have gone through the legislation tooth and nail, and I have a document here that outlines every single time freedom of expression is protected. I could tell membe…
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Mr. Speaker, one of the things I would flag for the member, and I am not sure if he knows this, is that I put forward a motion in committee asking that we work through the summer so that we could get this legislation right. The members of the Conservative Party voted against that. If they had voted for that motion, we would have had the time. We would have been able to sit through the summer and l…
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Madam Speaker, I want to congratulate my colleague for the work he did on the committee. He brought forward a number of amendments. Many of them were very similar to amendments that I had brought forward. I want to thank him for the excellent work that he did. The reason the Conservatives did not want to stand up for the little guy is because they do not care about the little guy. They never have.…
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Madam Speaker, that was an excellent question. My thanks to my colleague for all of the work that he has done to bring some rationality to the debate we have had in the House this evening. When we see these divisive black-and-white politics, nothing gets done. Nothing gets fixed. We do not make the best legislation that we can. I see I am out of time. I have lots to say about this, but I am happy …
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Madam Speaker, I figured I would just point out that while there may be members who are not in their camera shot, they could very well be listening and taking notes on another part of their desk.
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Madam Speaker, I know my colleague is very thoughtful and careful in his language, but he spoke about amendments that have been put forward to make the bill better. I wonder what he can say about an amendment that the Conservative Party put forward. It says: That Bill C-10, in Clause 7, be amended by adding after line 19 on page 8 the following: 9.2 An online undertaking that provides a social med…
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